The 2012 Washington gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012. Candidates in the election were chosen in an August 7, 2012 primary election, under the state's

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, w ...

system, which allows voters to vote for any candidate running in the race, regardless of party affiliation. The two candidates who received the most votes in the primary election qualified for the general election. Incumbent Governor

Christine Gregoire Christine Gregoire (; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American attorney and politician who served as the List of governors of Washington, 22nd governor of Washington, from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), D ...

decided to retire rather than seek a third term. She endorsed fellow Democrat Jay Inslee, a U.S. Congressman, as her successor. On March 20, 2012, Inslee resigned from Congress in order to focus on his gubernatorial campaign. Inslee and Republican

Rob McKenna Robert Marion McKenna (born October 1, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 17th attorney general of Washington from 2005 to 2013 after serving on the Metropolitan King County Council from 1996 to 2005. A member of the ...

, the

Attorney General of Washington The attorney general of Washington is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of Washington and head of the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. The attorney general represents clients of the state and defends the public interest ...

, advanced to the general election. Inslee narrowly won the election, and McKenna conceded three days later.

Primary election

Democratic candidates

* Rob Hill *

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee ( ; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician and lawyer who served from 2013 to 2025 as the 23rd governor of Washington. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2012 as a ...

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for WA-01 (1999–2012) and WA-04 (1993–1995)

Declined

* Lisa Brown,

State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

Majority Leader *

Dow Constantine James Dow Constantine (born November 15, 1961) is an American lawyer, urban planner, and politician who is the chief executive officer of Sound Transit. He was appointed in 2025 after resigning as county executive of King County, Washington, a p ...

, King County Executive *

, incumbent Governor * Jim McIntire, State Treasurer * Aaron Reardon,

Snohomish County Executive The Snohomish County Executive is the head of the executive branch of Snohomish County, Washington. The position has four-year terms (with a term limit of three consecutive terms) and is a partisan office. History County voters approved the ado ...

Ron Sims Ronald Cordell Sims (born July 5, 1948) is the former deputy secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, having served in the position from May 8, 2009 to July 2011. He is also a former King County executive. Sims r ...

, former King County Executive and Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development * Brian Sonntag,

State Auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, or state examiners, among others) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, program eval ...

Republican candidates

* Shahram Hadian, pastor and small business owner * Javier O. Lopez *

* Max Sampson

Declined

Dave Reichert David George Reichert ( ; born August 29, 1950) is an American retired police officer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2005 to 2019. A moderate member of the Republican Party, he served as the sheriff of King Count ...

, U.S. Representative

Independent candidates

* Christian Joubert * L. Dale Sorgen, computer programmer and former pastor * James White

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

(Democratic), former

(Republican),

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 2, 2012 -

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

Aggregate polls
Christine Gregoire vs. Rob McKenna
Christine Gregoire vs. Dave Reichert
Jay Inslee vs. Dave Reichert
Lisa Brown vs. Rob McKenna

Results

The race was close throughout the night, with results too close to call after 60 percent of ballots were cast. Inslee was declared the winner early in the morning three days later; McKenna conceded later in the evening. Inslee won only eight of the state's 39 counties, relying on heavy votes from the

Seattle metropolitan area The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding Satellite city, satellites and suburbs. The United States Census Bureau defines the Seattle–T ...

pushing him to victory.

By county

;Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican *

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

(largest city: Oak Harbor) * Kitsap (largest city:

Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 43,505 at the 2020 census and an estimated 44,122 in 2021, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard ...

) * Pierce (largest city:

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

) * Skagit (largest city:

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

)

By congressional district

Inslee won five of ten congressional districts, with the remaining five going to McKenna, including one that elected a Democrat.

Notes

Partisan clients

References

External links

Elections & Voting
at the Washington Secretary of State office Official campaign websites
Jay Inslee (D) for Governor

Rob McKenna (R) for Governor

Shahram Hadian (R) for Governor
{{Washington elections

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Jay Inslee

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Primary election

Democratic candidates

Declined

Republican candidates

Declined

Independent candidates

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

Debates

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

Results

By county

By congressional district

See also

Notes

References

External links